Owen Mauss Christensen

I've been meaning to write this post for a few days now but it has been hard to find words that felt right. Last week, my Grandpa Christensen passed away. He was just a month shy of turning 97 years old but even up until his last few days, he lived his life as if he was 70. The day before he had his stroke he was driving, playing games with family. A few months before that he was playing 9 holes of golf with his granddaughters. He is a truly remarkable man, not just because of his energy and vitality but because of his integrity, love, sincerity, faith and desire to live righteously. My Grandma Christensen passed away three years earlier and it was hard to see my Grandpa without her by his side. In my mind, if Ty and I can have even half the love and respect in our own marriage that they had in theirs, we will be successful. As sad as it is to say farewell (for now) to my Grandpa, I am so happy that he is reunited with this wife and companion, Louise. No doubt that was a very sweet and tender reunion.
These are some pictures that I scanned from my parent's house a year ago of my Grandparents and I am so happy that I have them.

Here is the cute couple!

I absolutely love this picture. This is my Grandpa, Grandma and Great Aunt Jean jumping on our trampoline. They were so brave to go on there with me considering I had no concern for their age or delicate knees and backs...as you can see in this picture.

This is another great picture. The pic on the right is of them on their honeymoon. I can't remember exactly where they went but it was somewhere in CA. The pic on the left is them 50 years later at the exact same spot. My mom described my Grandma perfectly, "She looks so angelic."

This is at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

And of course, I can't think of memories of my Grandpa without thinking of his homemade ice cream. Whenever the family got together, he provided the homemade ice cream (usually strawberry ice cream) and it was delicious. He knew how to do it right.
The funeral was bittersweet! It was hard to say goodbye to my Grandpa and to know that I won't be able to visit him whenever I am in UT but I cherish the time I had with my WHOLE family (20 grandkids, 35+ Great Grandkids, all of which were at the funeral and all of which he knew birthdays and ages without having to consult his calendar) this last week and I am so excited that my Grandparents are together again, the way it is meant to be!